An Event Less Ordinary
Sunnyside, Illinois
(13)
Sunnyside, Illinois
(13)
13 customer reviews
Brian Peterson
After my very first discussion with Carolyn, I knew we'd found the right coordinator for us. We were primarily looking for month-of coordination, but we were also interested in additional help planning certain aspects of the wedding, the biggest of which was our rehearsal dinner.
Our rehearsal dinner idea was complicated, and Amy and Carolyn perfectly coordinated five food vendors and a venue. I already felt confident that all would go well on the wedding day, and the success of the rehearsal dinner only reinforced that feeling.
On our wedding day, Carolyn and her assistant perfectly orchestrated everything. Guests transported from two hotels arrived on time and comfortable. The venue, the tables, the chairs, and the decorations were all squared away before anyone arrived. Ceremony went exactly as rehearsed. Bride and groom gracefully whisked away for a moment alone -- and a waiting drink -- before staged photos. Room flip and photo booth setup all done while our guests were enjoying cocktail hour in the bar. Buffet dinner service started right on time... with full plates delivered to us at the head table. (And at my explicit request, Carolyn made sure I hydrated between glass of beer and whisky. EL OH EL!) Truly everything went as scheduled and planned, and many of our guests said it was the best wedding they'd ever attended. We absolutely could not have done this without AELO. If you need a coordinator or a planner (partial or full), book An Event Less Ordinary as soon as you can.
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Sarah D
I think it’s fair to say that Rachel was a huge part of what tipped the balance from stressful to wonderful on the day of our wedding. In the run up to the day, she was so self-evidently organized and competent that we felt comfortable letting go and trusting her with all the wrangling day-of. After the stress of actually planning the wedding, it was comforting and pleasant to just tell her where the votives should be and how to set up the event space and then see it exactly how we imagined it. I can’t imagine how much we would have been freaking out during the requisite day-of emergency (in our case, “where’s the breaking glass for the ceremony?!?!”) if we had to solve the problem ourselves rather than just sitting tight while Rachel ran the problem down. Rachel let us just focus on getting married and for that we are forever grateful. More...
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Erin Gschwind Romo
An Event Less Ordinary (AELO) was suggested to us by our venue, Ignite Glass Studios. We sent an initial email inquiry and within 24 hours we received a response and couldn’t have been happier from the very beginning.
We had a couple of phone calls with Carolyn to hash out some details prior to our in person meeting. When we finally met her in person at our walk through, it felt as though we had all known each other for years! She jumped right in at our walkthrough to take details and responsibilities off of our plate. We didn’t even need to ask her- it was like she was two steps ahead of us at all times. Additionally, she also created a timeline for the day of the wedding and contacted all of our vendors as needed, which put us at ease.
On the day of the rehearsal she worked so well with our church, families, and bridal party and assisted in transporting any items to the venue. On the actual day of our wedding, my wife and I couldn’t have imagined any other person. The day of your wedding is so chaotic, but Carolyn (and her assistant) maintained a calm and welcoming, but detail-oriented presence that helped make every part of the event go incredibly smooth. She even brought a suitcase full of emergency items! Throughout the entire event, Carolyn and her assistant were always ready and willing to step in and even provided us with excellent tips on how to cut the cake together. Who would’ve thought?! Before leaving, Carolyn checked in with us one last time and handed over the reigns to her assistant. All of our cards, belongings, etc. were so neatly packaged and ready to go at the end of our night and we couldn’t have been more thankful.
I wish there were 6 stars to give Carolyn and AELO because they certainly deserve it. My wife and I cannot express how grateful we are to Carolyn and the AELO team. Our wedding experience wouldn’t have been the same without you!
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Lindsey
I would never be able to rave more about this company or Carolyn! I wouldn't have been able to pull off the planning and day of the wedding without her! Now I feel as though I have lost a good friend! She is awesome and patient and totally knows what she is doing. She makes you feel at total ease. I highly recommend! More...
Reviewed on WeddingWire
Claire Markham
Working with Carolyn was a joy. Our parents and our bridal party all independently remarked on how organized and helpful she and her assistant were throughout the day, and we found her so easy to work with in the lead up to our wedding. I was planning from out of town and was fairly organized, but Carolyn was instrumental in my feeling like I could hand over the reigns on the day and just focus on enjoying everything! I can't recommend AELO enough. More...
Reviewed on WeddingWire
Annette
We worked with Carolyn as our day of coordinator, and our wedding was perfection thanks to her. Though we had hired an amazing dream team of competent, cool, and gracious vendors, we felt like we needed some extra fire power during the day of our wedding -- we wanted to show up and really enjoy the whole experience without having to deal with any questions or problems.
We also didn't want to burden any of our friends and family with extra responsibilities -- it was important to us for everyone to show up and have a great time. So, it was critical to find a day of coordinator who we could trust to manage the whole process and execute our vision.
Carolyn was a gem. She picked up all of our decorations and took them to the venue, handled all logistics and decorating, and made sure our wedding was on schedule with all of the necessary elements in the right place. Any time I had a question or request, I could easily find Carolyn and count on her to make it happen (like when I needed a plate of snacks before the ceremony!). Thank you, Carolyn!!!
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Kennan
We hired Carolyn to be our day of coordinator for our wedding in August 2017. When we started wedding planning I wasn’t sure we needed a coordinator, but in hindsight it was the best money we spent.
First of all she’s so easy to work with. We live in Philadelphia and our wedding was in Chicago. She was great about doing things over the phone or email and arranging our in-person meeting around our crazy travel schedule. She is crazy competent at her job, and really fun to work with. Living so far away, we had a lot of fears about last minute issues that we wouldn’t be able to handle, but our final walkthrough with Carolyn put our minds at ease and actually turned out to be a ton of fun. It was so great to end the stressful experience of wedding planning on a high note!
Second, she did a great job organizing all of our vendors and dealing with last minute issues and questions from our families. Having someone to run your rehearsal isn’t something you realize you’re going to need until you get there. It is so helpful to have someone (besides yourself) who can tell everyone where to go and what to do and to provide perspective. On the day of the wedding she arranged everything and even built, like actually built, our chuppah (no small feat, that thing was huge). With her taking care of everything we were able to relax and enjoy the day.
An Event Less Ordinary, and Carolyn in particular, were a dream to work with and turned the stressful process of wedding planning into an event that we could sit back, savor, and remember fondly for the rest of our lives. The work they do is impeccable and we honestly can’t thank Carolyn enough for all she did for us!
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Tammy
Absolutely the best!! A day-of coordinator was the first thing that we took care of once we had a date and venue set. From An Event Less Ordinary, we got Carolyn and her assistant Alyssa.
We met up with Carolyn at a Starbucks and the love grew from there. She was really fantastic from beginning to end - the perfect balance of laid back and let's get shit done. Carolyn was also incredibly supportive of all of our ideas and let us be us.
She really kept our day organized and was incredibly flexible in meeting with us. To quote one of my matrimony homies: we "had a great team this weekend. They were all leaders and always took initiative." Carolyn and Alyssa just knew exactly what needed to happen and they did it with very minimal instruction from me and that was really just priceless. With so many other things to think about and make decisions on with wedding planning, it was so nice to have someone that I could trust to "make things pretty."
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Laura
I can't say enough positives about Carolyn at An Even Less Ordinary. I'm fairly confident she went well above and beyond our contract. I would have been so lost without her assistance in planning and coordinating the wedding. She was a huge asset in finding other vendors and communicating my needs and wants effectively. I honestly could gush, but I'll leave this review here. Do not hesitate to contact and book An Even Less Ordinary!! More...
Reviewed on WeddingWire
Tim
First word: Outstanding! More words to follow…
Excellent!!! Brittany and her assistant literally were a lifesaver, and we can confidently say helped make our wedding day OURS.
We had our ceremony and reception at The Grove Redfield Estate in Glenview, and AELO worked to make sure we could focus on our friends, family, and celebration rather than last minute snafu’s, setups, forgotten items, small breakdowns of plans, and so many other things. We used them for day of coordination, but feel like we got much more than that. We also had a chance to meet with Amy & Carolyn and they are consummate professionals with great personalities.
Long/Short: I would quickly and readily recommend them to anyone I know, or they know. They were Outstanding
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Lindsey
I was lucky enough to be referred by a friend to An Event Less Ordinary. I knew that having help on the day of my wedding was going to be important. AELO provides this type of service and beyond - I worked with Carolyn and she was present throughout the planning process, offering to take over vendor communications, solidify timelines, help run the rehearsal and more. She had a friendly, positive attitude and was professional and responsive. Her and her assistant on our wedding day truly helped make it a flawless evening and I cannot thank them enough for the exceptional service that they provided! More...
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Tashianna
How do I explain the AWESOMENESS that is Carolyn!!!
This woman was Heaven Sent! I reached out to An Event Less Ordinary about 1 month out from my wedding day for day of coordination, and from the start, Carolyn was AMAZING!
I fell in love with her from the moment we talked on the phone! She'd told me to take time and think about if I wanted to book with them, and I told her that I didn't need time, that she could send me over a contract and her check was in the mail! She was very affordable, and very hard working. She planned every detail of my wedding day down to the minute, and although I was freaking out because we started late (due to some of my bridal party arriving late) she told me that she would take care of everything and she was right, by the Best Man and Maid of Honor speeches, we were back on schedule! From the start she told me, not to worry about anything that pertained to the wedding day that she would handle everything, and she did.
My family loved Carolyn as well; it wasn't just my husband and I! Everyone at the wedding raved on about the coordinator and how she didn't take any mess, and made the day so perfect. All I kept hearing, was your coordinator was awesome! She really went above and beyond to make sure everything was worry free for me! Oh and I can't forget about Sam! She was a huge part of the day as well! When I didn't see Carolyn, I saw Sam, so one of them was always readily available to me and my guests. They were both so pleasant and easy to work with, I felt like they were my girlfriends! I would definitely recommend AELO to anyone that needs event planning and coordination, as these ladies are VERY good at what they do. I will be hiring them again soon to handle a big family event coming up!
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J
We hired AELO as our day of coordinators and were extremely pleased with the quality of their work and their professionalism. Carolyn and Amy are energetic, detailed oriented, and a pleasure to work with. We felt very comfortable leaving things in their capable hands so we could enjoy our day worry-free. We also found them to be very reasonably priced for Chicago. We would definitely recommend them to other couples. More...
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